Skip to main content

tv   Your World With Neil Cavuto  FOX News  October 31, 2012 1:00pm-2:00pm PDT

1:00 pm
this is a timeline, that is 2:00, that is 3:00, 2:30. they are having problems. the ticker will keep ticking the next hour and a half. weird, isn't it? neil should be able to explain. >>neil: all right. in the middle of all of this, all of this, we got this, a live look at the morning stock exchange wrapping up the first trading day since sandy landed. but after the first to day weather-related shut down since 1888, will wall street ever be the same again? well, it is done. i guess. welcome, everyone, i am neil cavuto. fox on top of a monster storm that could not keep the we stock market plumb dflummoxed.
1:01 pm
so there was a sense of normalcy, but stocks started out strongly today with general motors posting earnings that beat the street although they were just terrible, its still bet the forecast and the company is laying off 2,300 folks over the course of the next year or so. most of those coming in europe and stocks soar on the news that you lay off people it is good for the stock, that was the wisdom today, a big dow component and home depot gaining and it could demand as folks beginning repairs after sandy and insurance stocks were mixed understandably as the costs pile up will the dow finished as it began, it is almost as if we did not pray today off 10 1/2 points
1:02 pm
but it was not smooth sailing. to get there it was tough. lauren, how did it go? >> well, it was a stage day. you know what? you just said we ended the day right where we started the day, it will get dark in a little bit so we will end this day in a couple of minutes right where we started with no light whatever. let me give you a scene setter, that is the new york stock exchange. normally i would not be able to stand on broad street because it is usually too crowded but that is not the case now. we have tourists or residents getting their things and going to a hotel because there is though power here. let me show you my little collection of founds. i hear we your voice spotty, we have at&t iphone, we have sprint, we have at&t and verizon blackberrys, not am of it is working, we are lucky to get a signal. it is so bad that they are
1:03 pm
operating if that building with limited phone lines and limited internet. they are slowly getting it back. if i take you over here, these are our friends we offer free charges, locals who, really, are stranded, they do not have a way to charge their devices so we had friends come in and out all day. a guy said a doorman charged 100 for a charge. that is the situation. it is a ghost down and it will return to a ghost town in a couple of hours when the sun goes down. some service the be back up tomorrow, and that 8 help things out and everyone who came to work today that works on the new york stock exchange, they drove down. that is important. there will be car pooling going on tomorrow and it is a dangerous situation. so, surprise to see we saw so many traders in the building showing new york resilience. >>neil: you have been going
1:04 pm
from dawn young lady and a great job. anyway, physically very get down there, this is the lower end of manhattan and a good chunk is underwater so you cannot get through the holland tunnel or queens midtown or through the brooklyn battery, the places where you access lower manhattan so you get a car that has to drop you off probably 15 or 20 blocks from that. i would not camp out at verizon headquarters, their lobby, unless you swim. that was the situation there. keep in mind, because of that, getting there is tough, remember, no jersey transit service to this area, period, so shy of a helicopter or a way to beam yourself there you are out of work. the financial hit from sandy
1:05 pm
alone could not the economy on its kuester. some say it could knock up to half a pound off of the g.d.p. because it will translate into $30 billion in lost business and add to it the fiscal cliff approaching and no wonder charles payne is worrying. >> everyone was afraid of the fiscal cliff before sandy and now it is a bigger drop. i squall it -- equal it to those people would would go off niagara falls with a barrel with a couple of dumbbells in your hand making the landing more difficult. bottom line, the market has been shaky the last two or three weeks. >>neil: and just drying out from this, repairing, but there is the argument you have to rebuild. >>guest: when it is all said and done the $30 billion number will be low and i suspect diction 630 billion or $70
1:06 pm
billion in damage or lost economic activity and $35 billion plus rebuilding so every dime we put in, rebuilding, we lose 20 cents so it underscores what we know. we are in a perilous position, and the last quarter was 2 percent g.d.p. gross but we realize it will be revised. and when it is said and done no one would be surprised if we grow autopsy 1.5 percent so you take off the other half a percent and 1 percent growth means you are swimming the bottom and anything, anything, anything can knock it off and we are back to a double dim recession. >>shepard: and the areas that were damaged, wall street resumed trading today but it was touch and go, right in one trading firm had to shut down. another was taking calls in on a lottery basis. so, it was almost, almost like
1:07 pm
shutting into a tin account. is that way we should be running? >>guest: i think the symbolic aspect was important. you did not feel like we did the first day we reopened after 9/11 but that is what they were going for. listen, there is a certain resolve. we know it is not perfect but the fact of the matter is we are open, we will be clumsy today but check us out tomorrow and friday. >>neil: you have been amazing young man with heavy lifting yourself and you have been great help to a lot of people. he is not only a friend but, man oh man talk about a guy with the weight of the world on his shoulders and never moaned about it. the last time we had back-to-back days off was 1888 and teddy was this and he joins now to compare.
1:08 pm
i am kidding. i love you dearly. i heard this crazy way that they were trying to get orders in and they had to use a lottery. how did it end up in the end? >> well, from our viewpoint it was just another day. there were issues and it is kind of strange, example, you cannot use a cell phone in the building but you can outside. the internet did not work and we are, we have folks on the upper west side as i mentioned earlier in an apartment with all the connections because our offices which are right down the block we cannot get in the building at 60 and broad street. it seemed when we had the disruptions in previous years and i hesitate to say this because i am clearly too old and i have been doing this too long, but when it was all people, when there were 5,000 people here --. >>neil: we lost ted, that explains some of the technical
1:09 pm
difficulties going on. but to put it in perspective this is the lobby, and that is what they dealing with. that is the lobby here. there are a lot of areas in and around lower manhattan where wall street announced that is the case. so it is waterlogged. cell phone service is spotty and even now if you try to call out on a cell phone it is one out of 50 attempts. i tried to get back to my wife and i have been in the city all week and she is in new jersey and one out of 50 calls went law by the time i got through the kids had tied her up to the table demanding all the candy from halloween that has been canceled. i think we have teddy back. i see you didn't pay your bill. what happens now? we get beyond this but it is not as if it is getting rackbly better. what do you see happening tomorrow and friday?
1:10 pm
>>guest: well, clearly, we have the election next week and that will be a huge game changer depending on how that plays out and then the focus is going to be this fiscal cliff and the political circus in washington and they will hang everyone out to try i am sure no matter who selected to the very last minute and it is unbelievable that here we are, a couple years later and we are finding ourselves in the same political position and everyone is on pins and needles but the bottom line for the market, the market can thought deal with all of this uncertainty and i think it is going to be a negative as you work toward the end of the year. >>neil: do you think we should have shut down the last two days? >>guest: i think the markets need to be open and need to run. it is a terrible event what they are going through on the east coast and in new york but life goes on. we have been through mother native vents -- mother nature's
1:11 pm
events and this is a world-wide market and people want to trade and they should be open. >>neil: great to see you. thank you very were. the new york stock exchange is open for business. to hoboken new jersey, a hop across the hudson river going up 50 or 60 blocks and you will be in a whole heap of watery trouble. thousands of people are standed in their homes there and, surrounded by floodwaters and now filling with sewage. that is not good. the national guard is on the way in. this is hoboken, new jersey, just across the bridge from manhattan, from the lincoln tunnel. this is incredible image and it reminds you how humbling mother nature is. >> ahead of the president's visit to new jersey, governor
1:12 pm
christie. [ male announcer ] humana and walmart have teamed up to bring you a low-priced medicare prescription drug plan.
1:13 pm
♪ with a low national plan premium... ♪ ...and copays as low as one dollar... ♪ ...saving on your medicare prescriptions is easy. ♪ so you're free to focus on the things that really matter. call humana at 1-800-808-4003. or go twalmart.com forails. to tell real people about our new 15 under $15 menu. oh my goodness! oh my gosh, this looks amazing! that's a good deal! [ man ] wow! it is so good! [ male announcer ] our new maine stays! 15 entrees under $15, seafoodchicken and more! oo! the tilapia with roasted vegetables! i'mctually looking at the wd grilled chicken with portobello wine sauce.
1:14 pm
you so fascinated by the prices, you keep rambling on! i know! -that pork chop was great! -no more fast food friday's! so we gotta go! we're going to go to red lobster. yep. [ male announcer ] try our 15 under $15 menu and sea food differently!
1:15 pm
>> we can rebuild. okay? >>neil: the toughest job of a leader, state, local, national, to try to make sense of this and help people move forward, governor christie trying his best and consoling people.
1:16 pm
the national guard is moving in to get thousands of residents trapped by the flooding out in of all places, hoboken new jersey, right across from manhattan, an estimated 500 million gallons of water needs to be pumped out and the problem is people cannot get out. that is where we have jonathan hunt right now. >>jonathan: it is a desperate situation for many residents of hoboken. there is still up close, today, a lot of water standing in the streets, many homes badly flooded at the ground level and that has left so many residents here stranded. the national guard has arrived now on the scene. they have been going from house-to-house, residence to residence, taking people out by truck and in some cases by boat. many of them that we spoke to just very relieved they finally got help and got rescued. some 48 hours or more after the storm first hit.
1:17 pm
it was tough for them. many of them have little food and nothing to drink, no power at all over here in hoboken. for those who can get out it is difficult to get to work. as you know very well, many of them work right across the river in manhattan and you can see the world trade center there on the lower tip of manhattan but getting from here to there has proven almost impossible for a lot of people. those who tried to dry in to manhattan faced a six hour journey and no new jersey transit, no subway, there will be a very limited service tomorrow no commuter trains at all and before we go, a quick shout out to our young friends here, cleaning up the debris that the hudson river left. this is part of the civic areas that bring hoboken and others back, stronger than's. >>neil: thank you, jonathan. great reporting. all day. this is becoming a common seen along the east coast, people
1:18 pm
lining up for gas. not for their cars, just for the generators. this line spotted in shark river, new jersey, and they are not alone. millions of people still have in power as they try to recover from sandy, six million people without power right now, essentially half of them in the garden state. now to first energy in new jersey. where does it stand? >>reporter: we had more than a million customers without service we have restored 150,000 and we have 950,000 customers out. we have a great work ahead of us. >>neil: what takes long in the key stations are underwater, but it is worse than that. some of the facilities have been destroyed, right? >>guest: the barrier islands took a hard hit in this storm. we have areas we have nut been able to get to.
1:19 pm
we can only fly to because the roads are removed or covered with sand or gone so until that is secured we cannot do an evacuation and the rest of the day we evaluate our high vote average transmission system the backbone of the grid with major damage there we need to fix before we can move into the residential areas and we have about 1,600 line workers and forestry workers working the storm right now. >>neil: we have had a number utility firms in new jersey and a lot of the private upstarts, as well, are you all in sync together? do you help each other out? >>guest: utilities are members of mutual assistance agreements and we have line workers working for us from as far away as california and the state of washington. >>neil: thank you very much, chris. this just in, halloween is moved
1:20 pm
in new jersey, it is today, but it will be moved to next monday, the governor christie has moved that holiday out of safety concerns so the kids can trick or treat next monday. do not be surprised if other states follow suited and that would be election eve which might be appropriate. so, next monday the kids can go trick or treating but, again, the bottom line is you know the rule kids whether it is delayed or not, two pieces for you, two pieces for daddy. two for you, two for daddy so we are on the same page. that is nice. that is very nice for the kids. we will have more. oohooo....hah! oh...there you go. wooohooo....hahaahahaha!
1:21 pm
i'm gonna stand up to her! no you're not. i know. you know ronny folks who save hundreds of dollars switching to geico sure are happy. how happy are they jimmy? happier than a witch in a broom factory. get happy. get geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more. introducing the new droid razr maxx hd by motorola. now more than ever droid does. and i'm here to tell homeowners that are 62 and older about a great way to live a better retirement. it's called a reverse mortgage. [ male announcer ] call right now to receive your free dvd and booklet with no obligation. it answers questions like
1:22 pm
how a reverse mortgage works, how much you qualify for, the ways to receive your money, and more. plus, when you call now, you'll get this magnifier with l.e.d. light absolutely free. when you call the experts at one reverse mortgage today, you'll learn the benefits of a government-insured reverse mortgage. it will eliminate your monthly mortgage payments and give you taxy in your home. and here's the best part -- you still own your home. take control of your retirement today. ♪ ♪
1:23 pm
1:24 pm
>> to let you know the spot in new jersey today, touring hurricane damage with governor chris christie and governor romney is campaigning in florida with the election a week away. there are plenty of criticism from both of the guys but the president some say is using this as political gain and some are blasting governor romney for campaigning at a time like this so neither can win from the opponent. real clear politics says they are both doing what they should be doing. explain. >>guest: look, the president has spent three days being the president, touring the storm damage and he has not done any campaigning since sunday. now, mitt romney did take a day off great the campaign trail on tuesday. he had one storm relief collection event essentially in dayton, but he has to get back up campaigning. now he has been holding events in florida today and he had a softer tone in criticizing the
1:25 pm
president and has not criticized the president much. i get off of a convince call and he will pick up the tone tomorrow and criticize the president again laying out the contrast he needs but, look, mitt romney could not go to the eastern seaboard people would say he was getting in the way or causing too much of a distraction if he went to the storm affected areas. so, i do think they are doing what they need to do. >>neil: in the case of mitt romney he urges donations to the events to red cross or emergency supplies but you are right i don't think either can win. having said that, how is this shaking out politically? it is a disaster. generally i would assume the president at time of disaster, they rally folks to them. has this one? >>guest: well, let me point out, as well, that i went to an ann romney event in northern cincinnati and she spent the
1:26 pm
first five minutes of her stump speech talk about the victims of the storm and got out her iphone and she demonstrated how everyone in her audience could donate to the red cross. so she is doing as much as she can. it is not just mitt romney. so, i make that point. it is true the president might be able to whip up some patriotism for him thousand the country because of the storm and mitt romney just has to keep campaigning, but both campaigns don't know how this will affect town out. the big thing to do is look at new hampshire and virginia, two states that were affected by the storm and how it could affect the town out the voters. we do not know how it will shake out or if there is a rallying behind president obama in the last few difficulties before election day. >>neil: you never know if they would extend election day it would probably be a legal hurdle so leaving that aside, a lot of folks could be without power in
1:27 pm
a lot of areas so they have to file a paper ballot if you go to the precinct and you are, this is like some of these old countries where you have a slip paper and they count it at the precinct and it could be a long election night, could it not? >>guest: it could. and you are absolutely right, provisional ballots are something we will have to watch the i point out that most affected areas are not swing states but it could affect a senate race in connecticut and we will have to wait to see what the provisional ballots do for that but in cincinnati where i am right new, an area that is fault affected by the storm, we have already seen the provisional ballots may not be counted for a week and if things are close in ohio that could change the outcome of the election but it will not be because of the storm. >>neil: i could do all night election coverage, a week, that would really strange our viewers. we will see. thank you. utility companies are telling
1:28 pm
customs they could be in the dark, some of them, for another ten days or longer. that is thought sitting well with a new york state senator republican on the phone with us. senator, what do you do in that event? how does someone try to stop it? >>guest: at the end of the day we are not trying to have a pep rally and beat up on utilities but ten days is ridiculous. i left a senior complex in northern westchester and 250 seniors are sitting in the dark and cold and it is getting colder. it is not like we didn't know the storm was coming. we had learning moments with irene and another winter storm that hit us with a punch and a lot of the simple things they do not communicate properly and we do not have the out of state crews work properly with our local utilities and con-ed still is not delivering dry ice. i have been personally out there delivering the try ice that has been provided and when you get
1:29 pm
off the back of the truck the ice was gone. people need it. >>neil: but it is more than that. i know in tokyo or places that are ravaged by earthquakes and tsunamis with each one they build a stronger building, but here, they build the same transformer that is no more upgraded to withstand serious weather than the prior one and we are right back in the same pot. >>guest: i share the senate homeland security committee and i will reach out and continue to reach out to the governor and my colleague, outside of new york -- outside of jerusalem, new york city is the number one target for terrorists. the utilities view manpowers and hours as an expense and new york state is not in a position to
1:30 pm
hold them accountable. con-ed has crews coming in from california and they have not delivered the trucks. they do not have the boots on the ground they need. they will do corrections during the day, but they refuse to make the corrections at night is they thought working around the clock. we cannot have people sitting in the cold, seniors at assisted living facilities for weeks on end. >>neil: we will watch it closely, senator, thank you very, very much. if you going do take a long time to rebuild something, you have to rebuild it with something better and stronger something that doesn't do this. did mitt romney hit a key moment in the battle for the buckeye state?
1:31 pm
dealer
1:32 pm
1:33 pm
1:34 pm
>>neil: president obama wrapping up a tour around atlantic city a more ravaged areas of the storm obviously with governor christie there, and a reporter is with us, and we will probably interrupt you when they do speak. but, how is this sorting out? the polls are all over the place. one poll the president is up in ohio. another poll he is down in ohio. regardless of the poll types, across the board is this storm changing anything? >>guest: not really in ohio
1:35 pm
but we have not had enough good polling after the storm to tell if there is any difference but we had dueling conference calls between top romney and top obama strategists saying they are up. the romney are questioning a new poll that shows the president up by five points in ohio, but, also, losing among independents by six. so romney people are saying, look, we expect equal turn out between democrats and republicans so whoever wins the independents is going to win ohio and how can mitt romney be up six among independents and still losing? that is the mystery of the race height now. >>neil: we talking about the terse that developed, this calamity and why see it as a controversy. here is the governor of new jersey, dealing with a major disaster, and he needs federal help, he needs state, any help
1:36 pm
he can get his hands on and he works with the president to get the help and now is in a position a week before election day going to an event with the president, seeing the damage firsthand and knowing full well that while it might help his state, it is going to potentially help the president in the polls. what do you make of that. >> there has been a lot of conservative criticism of chris christie today. rush said that he agreed to pay the role of greek column for president obama today, referring to that stage set that obama accepted the nomination in denver in 2008 so there has been conservative criticism but on that conference call which just finished which i mentioned, top romney strategists were asked about governor christie and they said, look, he is doing his job. he is running the state of new jersey, and they had a horrific catastrophe and the president is doing his job. they expressed in criticism whatever for anything chris
1:37 pm
christie has done or anything that president obama has done. >>neil: still you have to wonder, mayor bloomberg turned down an opportunity to tour damaged areas around new york with the president saying it would create more fuss than it was wore, i am paraphrasing. is there anything to that? was it something more sinister that we do not appreciate? >>guest: generally with a big disaster, the president can sometimes stay away for a few days because being the president with all the security and all the advance work that entails, it can be a distraction when everyone is working 24/7 to try to respond to the emergency. that is what the mayor was referring to. we saw george bush saying he stayed away from the area around katrina because of that reason and bush suffered terribly for that decision but governor christie has welcomed president obama today so no one complaining about that in new
1:38 pm
jersey. >>neil: in new jersey. the rest of the state...i don't know, if obama was offering help, i would take it. thank you, byron. the president is in atlantic city with governor chris christie and he should be speaking shortly, fema officials are there and other top officials. rick, what do you see there? rick: incredible devastation in this community and many more up and down the new jersey coastline this is one of hundreds of homes that was damaged, some of them destroyed. you can see in this guy's front door and see the pool table covered with several feet of ground. >>neil: i will come back do you, but, now, with the president. >> we are surveying the damage up and down the new jersey coastline, we want to show the president that personally, and i had an opportunity to see and discuss it at length, and, then,
1:39 pm
going over to the shelter here, being able to meet with folks and they can see the president and his concern, the concern all of us have. we have lots of challenges and our challenge is to get back to normalcy to get power restored and people have clean drinking water and wastewater treatment maps are working and hospitals are taken care of, and we get kids back to school. so, i discussed all those issues with the president and i am pleased to report that he has sprung into action immediately to help get us those things while we were in the car riding together so i thank him for that. he has worked incredibly closely with me since before the storm hit and this is our sixth conversation since the weekend and it has been a great working relationship to make sure we are doing the jobs people elected tuesday do. i cannot thank the president
1:40 pm
enough for his personal concern and compassion for our state and for the people of our state. i was able to hear the conversations and witness today perfectly. we will work. state government is here, coordinating with female and i thank mr. fugat." thank you for being here. what i said yesterday i mean, there has to be sorrow and you see that and the president has seen it in the eyes and faces of folks and the sorrow is appropriate. we but we have not suffered much loss of life and we thank god for that. but we have suffered losses. this is the worst storm i have seen but we cannot permit that sorrow to replace the resilience that i know all in new jersey have. so, we will get up. we will get this rebuilt. we will put things back together because that is what the state
1:41 pm
is about and what we have always been about. for all who have here and i met a bunch of you here who disregarded my admonition, get the hell out of here, you know, we are forgiving you but not for much longer, when you look around and see this destruction that fine, but that can be replaced. you look for your right and to your left, your husband and wife, your son or daughter, those are the things that cannot be replaced so i am glad we don't have that kind of loss of life so i thank you for being here today and bringing personal attention this and it is my honor to introduce to all of you the president of the united states. [ applause ] >> thank you, everyone, let me shake sure i urge the folks who are here because they have played an important role in this. first of all, your congressional delegation, senator bob menendez, sing lautenberg and
1:42 pm
congressman, and atlantic county executive, and the mayor of briganttine. i thank everyone who has been involved in the entire rescue and recovery process. at the top of my list i have to say that governor christie throughout this process has been responsive. he has been aggressive in making sure that the state got out in front of this incredible storm. and the people of new jersey recognize that he has put his heart and soul into making sure the people of new jersey bounce back even stronger than before so i thank him for his extraordinary leadership and partnership. i thank the congressional delegation because part of the reason we are going to be able to respond quickly to all of
1:43 pm
this is because they helped to make sure that fema financing was in place. we are very appreciative of those efforts. i thank craig fugate. sometimes people think "fema" and they do not think of the people but craig lives and breathes and makes sure we are providing the help that people so desperately need. i thank altogether the first responders who have been involved in this process, the linesman, the firefighters and the folks in here shoveling people who were supposed to get the hell out and didn't. you helped to save a lot of likes likes and property. what you learn, the first responders, their homes usually are under water too or their families have been affected yet they make those personal
1:44 pm
sacrifices to help others. we appreciate them. i will make a couple of comments. number one, and most importantly, our hearts go out to the families who is lost loved ones. it is true that because of some good preparation the loss of life was kept lower than it might have been but for those individual families obviously their world has been torn apart. we need to make sure that everyone who has lost a loved one they are in our thoughts and prayers. i speak for the whole country. for those like the people i had a chance to meet on this lock and throughout new jersey and throughout the region would likes have been upended, we here for you. we will not forget. we will follow-up to make sure that you get all the help you need until you have rebuild.
1:45 pm
at this point our main focus is on the states of new jersey which got hit harder than anyone, the state of new york, particularly lower manhattan and long island, we are very concerned about situations in connecticut and we are monitoring west virginia where there are heavy snows in inaccessible areas but for the most part the four states are really bearing the brunt of this incredible storm. what we have been able to do is preposition and stage commodities, water, power generators, ambulances, food, medical supplies, emergency supplies, and we have over 2,000 fema personnel that are on the ground right now. their job is to make sure they
1:46 pm
talk to the individual communities so people know how they can get the help they need. we expedited our emergency declarations for the state of new jersey and local counties that have been affected. that means people can immediately start registering for emergency assistance. one of the things i want to emphasize to the people of new jersey and through the region now thank you safe and your family is safe and you are trying to figure out where you will stay the next few days, et cetera, it is important you know that help is available to you right now, for example, to find rental housing or to pay for some groceries. over at the community center we saw a woman with a newborn or probably, eight-month-old, still needs diapers and formula and ran out. those are the basic supplies and
1:47 pm
help we can provide. if you call 800-621-fema, or disaster assistance.gov, what that allows to do is to regular store right new so you can immediately start receiving help. we want to make sure you get everything you need. a couple of final points. obviously, our biggest priority right now is getting power turned back on. we are very pleased that newark get power yesterday, and jersey city is getting power, we believe, today, but there are still big chunks of the community including this community right here, that don't have power, so it is hard enough cleaning up debris and dealing with boats that have been upended and roads that are blocked when people do not have power they are disabled in all
1:48 pm
sorts of ways. yesterday i spoke to the c.e.o.'s of the utilities from all across the country. a lot of the states that were spared, that were not hard hit or, some states as far away as california, they have pledged to start getting equipment, crews, et cetera, here into new jersey and new york and connecticut as quickly as possible. and they were able to get military transport planes, potentially, to move assets, personnel, to speed up the process of getting power up and running as soon as possible. our first priority is water filtering plants and other critical infrastructure in the
1:49 pm
state. for that we have emergency generators. we have a navy ship that had helicopters that can help to move assets around the state, as well. so we are going to work with governor christie's office and local officials to identify what are the critical infrastructure needs and how can we get what is needed as quickly as possible. a couple of other things we are concerned about. as power starts coming back on, we want to make sure that people can also get to work. obviously there are a lot of folks in jersey who work in new york, in the city, and in other places where transportation could be difficult. i mentioned to the governor the possibility of us using federal assets, military as sets, as well ascertaining inventory of assets from around the country that can be brought in so we can help people get to their work. governor christie also mentioned the response of schools.
1:50 pm
the sooner we can get our kids back in to school, the sooner they are back in the routine that helps the families and the kids as well. we have a lot of work to do. i don't want anyone to feel somehow this going to get cleaned up overnight. we want to make sure that people have realistic expectations but what i can promise you the federal government will be working as chosely as possible with the state and local officials and we will not quit until this is done. the directive i have given and i said this yesterday but i will repeat and i think craig and others who are working with me right now know i mean it, we are not going to tolerate red tape or bureaucracy and i institute add 15-minute rule on my team: you return everyone's phone calls in 15 minutes whether it is the mayor, the governor, county officials, if they need something we figure out a way to
1:51 pm
say "yes." i had a chance to talk to some of the young people here who have volunteered going up-and-down the block cloning up -- cleaning up debris and at the community center there was a restaurant owner for 18 hours was cooking meals just as his contribution to the recovery process and some of the folks said the food was better than they got at home. a 15-year-old young man whose mother was disabled and he was making sure that she was okay and taking on extraordinary responsibilities for himself but, also, for his mom and when you see folks like that respond with strength and resilience and you see neighbors helping neighbors, you are reminded about what america is all about and we go through tough times
1:52 pm
but we bounce back. the reason we bounce back is because we lock out for one another. we don't leave anyone behind. my commitment to the people on this block, the people in this country, and the people of this state, that same spirit will carry over all the way through until our work is done. thank you very much, everyone. [ applause ] >>neil: i will leave it to the political pundits to weigh the odd sighting of the president of the united states with chris christie in the background and said he does not give damn about politics at this time just protecting folks in the state, and in crisis, folks, it really isn't about who is red or blue, new jersey needs a lot of green, a lot help, and chris christie doing his job as governor trying to make sure that new jersey gets the help so people can read anything they want into the political tea leaves he is doing
1:53 pm
what he has to do and the president is doing what he has to do so people can bicker over their roles but this is a time of need and you should let all that crap go on the side. and now, i interrupted rick on what he is seeing in the post sandy mess. how does it look now, rick? rick: this town, one of many along the coast this was torn up and while the president and the governor were touring some of the areas, congressman chris smith was getting a firsthand look at his congressional district. you have seen what we have seen. it's really bad here. the president said he will try and get help to the people that need it. how about that. how will you make that happen? >> we still in a mode of trying to make sure the people who have been displaced are reactedded and the biggest next steps will be interim housing. you cannot come back to the homes, they have been devastated
1:54 pm
the gasolines have been broken, and you can smell the gas. so, there is real danger lurking and the power lines that are down, obviously, they still pose a significant threat so much work has to be done in the next several days but, then, the rebuilding has to occur. rick: we are seeing bulldozers moving sand 50 of the roads and we saw boats on a bridge leading here and we saw boats on train tracks that have to be moved. >>guest: absolutely right. every single shore community has poets where they ought not to be, on the roads, certainly on train tracks, and you saw them. so much has to be done in terms of clean up. the volunteers, the office of emergency management and first responders have been absolutely superb. they are the real heroes. the lawmakers from the president to the governor we are all doing our bit but the real people on
1:55 pm
the ground are the mayors and they certainly the people who are the first responders. rick: you have been a congress plan for 34 years and represented the people for these decades i cannot imagine what is going through your mind and the things you hear from the people. your district is completely torn to shreds. >>guest: yesterday a man came up and said i have lost everythinged but i'm alive. we had others saying similar things. there is a sense of, we will congress back, but winter is coming and it is cold, it is getting colder now and as winter comes we will see people who truly displaced and we have to find shelter for them. rick: thank you, congressman, for taking the time to be with us. we have seen so were devastation, neil, and the work has not begun. they are trying to dealer the roads to make way for crews to come in and start closing gas leaks and get the power on so
1:56 pm
some people can come back to their homes and figure out how much they have lost. >>neil: talking about gas leaks and bulldozers that could be a dangerous situation. what are they doing to be on top of that? >>reporter: they have roadblocks and they will not let people back into the communities in many cases even to survey the damage and see their homes because it is not safe to come in here because of the gas leaks, because of the lines down and because of the roads that are blocked. it is just not safe. they encourage people to stay away. one thing to make note of, they went door-to-door to warn people get out, mandatory evacuation and made people sign wave whose stayed behind and after the storm they went door-to-door to everyone who signed a waiver and some were not home and they are looking for those people so if you signed a waiver and you have not gotten in touch with the town you have to let them know you are "kay. >>neil: so, a lot of the communities are trying to come
1:57 pm
back, and trading back at the corner of wall and broad and trying to get business back but in the middle of this and political debates, folks, 59 people are not coming back, they are dead. their families...for them, this is it. .. [ dennis ] it only took two minutes for this town to be destroyed. to a little girl who lived through it, this is more than a teddy bear. it's a step towards normal. it's why allstate catastrophe teams not only have hot coffee and help for grownups... they've also handed out
1:58 pm
more than twelve thousand teddy bears to kids. people come first... everything else is second. that's allstate's stand. are you in good hands?
1:59 pm
or that printing in color had to cost a fortune. nobody said an all-in-one had to be bulky. or that you had to print from your desk. at least, nobody said it to us.
2:00 pm
introducing the business smart

145 Views

info Stream Only

Uploaded by TV Archive on